February 1, 2017

Cold hard numbers on a computer screen

This is a new one. I go to this new organic restaurant on the Ave to get a cup of coffee. The clerk says: “Sorry, we don’t accept cash. Credit or debit only.”

I always wondered if the day would come when they completely phase out cash money. And everything is just a number on a computer screen. And I sure hope I never live to see that day. I deal almost exclusively with cash and have never had a credit card and almost never write checks (I admit I don’t live in the real world like the rest of you).

I remember when we used to pay the printer who printed up our Telegraph Avenue Street Calendar, we always paid him in cash. Usually around $3 thousand bucks. Most of it in twenties, this big pile of bills. He used to get this look of glee when he saw all that money. He’d hold it in his hands and count it, spread it all over his desk and play with it, with a big smile on his face. I guess most people paid him just by writing a check. But this was like playing with Monopoly money.

Andy Warhol said the best birthday present he ever got was from this guy who took a garbage can and filled it to the brim with one dollar bills. Warhol loved to run his fingers through all those bills. You just can’t beat cold, hard cash. Well, I guess you can now.